Mother's Day
by digitaldesigner
Summary: It's Mother's Day at the Hyperion.


Title: Mother's Day

Author: Aimee

Beta: Dev

Rating: PG

Spoilers: Slight ones for season 4, She Said Yes. This follows Picture Perfect.

Pairing: Angel/Cordelia, Gunn/Fred

Summary: It's Mother's Day at the Hyperion.

Disclaimer: If you recognize them, they belong to Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. Otherwise, they're mine.

Connor sat on his bed at the Hyperion, lost in thought. He knew Mother's Day was fast approaching and he had no idea what to get Cordy. These last three months had shown him what kind of a woman, what kind of a mother Cordy was. She was a woman who put her family above all else. He had finally let the other Cordy, the one who told him what he wanted to hear—go. This was the real Cordy. This was the one he wanted in his life. He wasn't her lover. That mantle belonged to the man who gave him life. There was only one word for what Cordy was to Connor now—mom. And suddenly, he knew what he wanted to get her.

Decision made, Connor stood, gathering his wallet and jacket when there was a knock on the open door. When he looked up, his father was standing there, a question in his brown eyes. "Hey," Connor greeted him.

Angel smiled at his son. "Going somewhere?" he asked, stepping over the threshold.

Connor nodded. "Shopping."

"What for?"

"Cordy. Mother's Day is coming up."

"Need a ride?" Angel asked.

"That'd be great," Connor told him, slipping on his jacket.

Angel nodded. "I'll meet you downstairs in five minutes."

"Okay."

***

"Cordy," Angel called, opening the door to their room.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking up from her spot on the sofa where she was reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.

Angel walked over and sat down beside her, kissing her softly.

"I have to go out for awhile," he told her.

"Where to?"

"I'm taking Connor shopping."

"Shopping?" she asked, surprised.

He pushed a stray piece of her dark hair behind her ear and smiled. "Yeah. He needs clothes," he told her softly. "He's been wearing the same five or six shirts for awhile now."

Cordelia's eyes brightened at the mere mention of the word shopping. "Clothes shopping? Can I come?"

Angel smiled. No one loved a good shopping trip like his wife. "Sorry, my love," he told her.

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Because teenage boys do not want to go clothes shopping with their mothers," he told her. "Besides, it will give us time to talk."

Cordelia sighed, silently agreeing with him. "Okay, but I'm going shopping soon," she told him. "And you're taking me."

Angel grinned. "Whatever you say, Cordy."

"When are you leaving?"

Angel looked at the clock on the wall. "I have to go now. I was supposed to meet him downstairs five minutes ago," he told her, rising.

"Have fun bonding with your son," she told him. "And be careful."

"I will," he said. "I love you," he told her, kissing her tenderly.

"I love you, too."

***

Angel and Connor were only ten minutes from the hotel when he broached the subject he'd been meaning to talk to Connor about. "Connor?"

"Yeah?"

"What would you say to the idea of Cordy officially becoming your mom?" he asked.

"You mean like adoption?"

Angel nodded. "Yes."

Connor turned to him, smiling. "I'd like that."

Angel smiled in relief. "Good. I'll have the paperwork drawn up."

"Does she know?"

Angel shook his head. "No."

***

Three hours later, Angel and Connor collapsed on the sofa outside Angel's office with a sigh, closing their eyes.

"Are you two dying?" Cordy asked with a grin.

Angel opened one eye. "Cute, Cordy, cute."

"I try."

Cordelia walked to where Angel was sitting. She leaned down and dropped a kiss onto his lips. "Come on, baby. It's time for bed," she told him, holding out her hand for him to take.

Angel grunted as he pushed himself up from the sofa. "Yes, dear."

Gunn looked up from his video game, shaking his head. "So thoroughly whipped," he said.

"What?" Angel asked.

"You," Gunn said, smiling. "You've only been married three months and you're whipped already."

"Charles," Fred cut in. "Time for bed."

Gunn looked deep into the young Texan's brown eyes and smiled. "Yes, dear."

Angel snickered. "What was that, Gunn?"

"Nothing," Gunn told the vampire. "Nothing at all."

***

The following Sunday, Cordy woke up to the smell of breakfast. The smell of waffles and sausage wafted its' way up to her nose. This day is getting off to the right start, she thought with a smile as she climbed out of bed. She pulled on jeans and a pink blouse before running a brush through her hair. Satisfied, she opened the door and made her way downstairs, stopping short when she reached the Hyperion's lobby.

"Oh, my," she whispered, surveying the scene before her.

The circular sofa that normally sat in the center of the lobby had been pushed to the side. In its' place was a long table, covered in food. Everything from waffles and pancakes to eggs and bacon. It looked delicious.

Angel took her hand and led her to head of the table, pulling the chair out for her. She took her seat next to Connor's. Angel sat down on the other side of her. Cordy looked down the table to see Wes, Gunn, Fred and Lorne already sitting there. "What is all of this?" she asked, turning to Angel.

"Happy Mother's Day," Connor told her, smiling.

"Do you want to eat first or open your presents?' Angel asked, already knowing the answer.

"Presents," she told him. "Definitely presents."

Angel smiled and set a box about the size of business envelope in front of her. "This one is from both Connor and me," he told her.

Cordelia tore off the pink wrapping and lifted the lid. Inside, she found a single piece of paper. Quickly reading it, her eyes filled with tears. "Are you sure?" she asked Angel.

"Of course I'm sure," he told her.

Cordy looked at Connor. "This is what you want?"

Connor smiled brightly. "Yes, I do."

Angel handed her a pen he had purchased for just this occasion. It was red and had her name engraved on the side. She twisted it, revealing the tip. She smoothed out the paper and signed her name on the line marked Cordelia Angel. Beside it, Angel signed the one marked Liam Angel.

"It's official?" she asked.

Angel nodded. "It's official," he smiled. "You are officially Connor's mother."

"Down the table, Lorne raised his glass of orange juice. "To the Angel's," he said. "Angel, Cordelia and Connor."

Cordelia smiled and turned to the boy she had loved since birth. She pulled him into her arms in one of the most tender hugs Angel had ever had the pleasure of seeing. "I love you, Connor," she whispered, tears glistening in her hazel eyes.

Connor lovingly returned her hug. Pulling back, he smiled. "I love you, too...Mom."

The effect of this simple word was instantaneous. The tears that had been glistening in Cordy's hazel eyes broke free, making their way down her pretty face.

Angel reached over and gently brushed them away. "Do you want your other presents now?"

Cordy nodded. "Yes."

Connor handed his mother a small box, wrapped up in gold paper. Cordy tore off the paper and gently lifted the lid. A gold locket lay nestled inside on a bed of cotton. Lifting it up, she inspected it closer. The outside bore just one word—Mom. Cordelia smiled. Opening it, she found a picture that touched her heart. In it, she and Connor sat on the sofa, talking, affection clearly written across their faces. She knew Fred had snapped this particular picture only a month after Connor had come home.

"Thank you, Connor. It's beautiful," she told her son, holding it up to her neck. Angel quickly fastened the clasp for her.

Connor smiled. "You're welcome."

"One more," Angel told his wife.

"There's more?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes. I had to get the mother of my child something on her first Mother's Day," he told her, smiling as he handed her a small box.

She smiled as she separated the paper from the box. Lifting the lid, she revealed a completely gorgeous ring. Three gems sat side-by-side in a 14 karat gold setting. They were made of Garnet, Emerald and Topaz, the three gems that represented the births of Angel, Cordelia and Connor.

"Oh, Angel," she whispered. "It's gorgeous."

"And so are you," he told her softly.

She slipped the ring on the ring finger of her right hand and smiled. It fit perfectly. "I love you," she told him. "Thank you."

He traced her jaw with the tip of a finger. "I love you, too," he told her softly before brushing his lips across hers in a tender kiss. "And you're welcome."

"Who's hungry?" he asked, lifting a lid off the waffles.

"I thought you'd never ask," Gunn said, reaching for the plate of sausage.

***

Later that night, Cordelia sat and stared at the piece of paper that had officially made her a mother. How was it that a piece of paper could make her so extraordinarily happy? Angel walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. "Happy?" he asked.

She nodded and turned in his arms. "Yes. Very."

"Good."

He gently took the paper from her hands and tucked it inside the frame he had bought for the occasion. "I'll hang it tomorrow," he told her.

"Thank you," she told him.

"For hanging a frame?"

"For everything. For loving me. For bringing me back from that coma. For giving me a son."

Angel smiled and led her to their bed, gently peeling her clothing off and letting them drop to the floor. She stood before him wearing nothing but a smile. "My God, you're beautiful," he whispered.

Cordy smiled and pulled him on top of her. "I love you, Angel," she told him as he kissed his way down her body.

"And I love you, Cordy."


End file.
